willfromsussex Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 Hey nice purchase. I have a 72 which I bought on ebay in 2007 and have been doing a ground up resto (with some modernisations/upgrades) Thread here.. http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?showtopic=21706 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwgriffiths Posted February 9, 2011 Author Share Posted February 9, 2011 Hey nice purchase. I have a 72 which I bought on ebay in 2007 and have been doing a ground up resto (with some modernisations/upgrades) Thread here.. http://forums.lr4x4....showtopic=21706 Nice build, looks like some serious work is going into that! Wrong fuel type though Was that posted on Retro Rides btw? I'm sure I've seen it somewhere else? Your bodywork looks in much better condition than mine, I'm jealous Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willfromsussex Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 Actually I am using parts from two that I bought. The outer panels are useable from the 72 but the whole inner structure was rotten so I bought an abandoned project shell to use the inner steelwork from. It has had repairs in the usual places but is better than many, so was very happy to get it. I have also been buying parts in whenever I see them such as a solid but dented tailgate locally on ebay, which I have had panelbeaten straight! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwgriffiths Posted February 13, 2011 Author Share Posted February 13, 2011 Plenty of progress on Saturday Replaced the starter motor bushes and got that working, then attacked the electrics with a multimeter to chase down why it would crank: It turned out to be the starter motor relay, and by complete fluke my local autospares had a relay identical to the broken Lucas version. It now cranks beautifully But doesn't run That'd be the dizzys fault surprise surprise Oh and the 8 'plugs look like this, which probably won't help Unfortunately it was too late in the day to find any plugs or a new dizzy cap - Halfrauds was useless So instead I've ordered £60's worth of bits off paddocks - New dizzy cap, new rotor arm, new HT leads, new plugs, new condenser, new coil and probably some other stuff I've forgotten about More pictures and some questions when I have more time this week Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwgriffiths Posted February 14, 2011 Author Share Posted February 14, 2011 Time for some more photos! Here's how she looked on arrival day: SInce then the spots and lamp guards have been removed and she looks much better now Here's the original tailgate And here is the new one fitted, its far from perfect but much better than the other one The top tailgate is so shot, it had rusted shut So out can the angle grinder It now opens, but I think it probably needs replacement now Now you're all up to date on the work thus far, next I'll upload some of the problem area photos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disco_al Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 i'm liking the rat look viper stripes on the bonnet there was one of those vertical slat grilles just sold on ebay for just over £200 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ragtag Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 there was one of those vertical slat grilles just sold on ebay for just over £200 What?????????? That's madness, they're not exactly rare! I bought two at the last Newbury Sortout for a fiver each. The ones with circles for additional lights are a bit more pricey...a guy wanted £25 for it but I don't like them so I passed. Worlds gone mad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disco_al Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 it was brand new, with the headlights and the headlight surrounds - from craddock surplus i think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwgriffiths Posted February 17, 2011 Author Share Posted February 17, 2011 there was one of those vertical slat grilles just sold on ebay for just over £200 I'm convinced fleabay is the devils work, I've seen used parts go for more than new old stock genuine parts I've found on the internet Look what I found: Turns out what I thought were cloth seats were covers / retrims that had just be stuck over the originals. Bonus I think they might need some work though Can anyone point me to a guide to DIYing RRC seats, I've found places online selling vinyl upholstery so I might try it myself because I can't find anywhere to do it "properly" (Nationwide refuse to email me back ). Am I being unrealistic in that goal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderzander Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 Re Trim kits .... ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwgriffiths Posted February 17, 2011 Author Share Posted February 17, 2011 Cheers for the suggestion, however they don't seem to do kits for vinyl seats otherwise they'd be perfect Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeSheds Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 <...> Can anyone point me to a guide to DIYing RRC seats <...> I used to work in the factory where they made those seats, and having watched people trimming them I would say it's not a job you should try unless you have: 1. A lot of patience 2. An industrial sewing machine 3. Strong hands with no joint problems In my humble opinion, I think that (depending on resources) the best approach would be to keep them as intact as possible (so that the way they are put together can be discerned) and to send them to a specialist... One thing I noticed this time looking through the pics, is that it still has a 'Toughened' windscreen - a nice original touch, but not something I would want in front of my eyes at 60mph on the motorway... I wonder what your decision will be? Roger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 Chris Hodges can supply doors, which he gets from Southern France (as well as Bodyshells), and they are almost 100% rot free! He has now moved to the Midlands somewhere, I can find out if you need to know! He also has a large stock of S/H body panels and other spares. Nationwide trim can retrim your seats, any other panels and I think they do carpets. They used to do all of the Range Rover trim finishes, (even leather!!!) but not sure what they supply now. I think that Exmoor Trim are biased more towards Land Rovers, but it can't hurt to give them a ring. With regard to the rear wipers I believe that they became available as an option after a couple of years, but were mounted on the rear D pillar, along with the washer bottle. Later ones were mounted above the tailgate. I seem to remember that there was an aftermarket version available, but I have no idea how this was fitted. Good luck with the rebuild. It will be nice to see an unaltered Range Rover classic as they are becoming extremely rare! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwgriffiths Posted February 18, 2011 Author Share Posted February 18, 2011 I used to work in the factory where they made those seats, and having watched people trimming them I would say it's not a job you should try unless you have: 1. A lot of patience 2. An industrial sewing machine 3. Strong hands with no joint problems In my humble opinion, I think that (depending on resources) the best approach would be to keep them as intact as possible (so that the way they are put together can be discerned) and to send them to a specialist... One thing I noticed this time looking through the pics, is that it still has a 'Toughened' windscreen - a nice original touch, but not something I would want in front of my eyes at 60mph on the motorway... I wonder what your decision will be? Roger I thought that might be the case, I'll pay someone else to do it then I'm impressed/intrigued how you knew the glass was toughened? Is it the way the light is reflecting in the photos or something? Chris Hodges can supply doors, which he gets from Southern France (as well as Bodyshells), and they are almost 100% rot free! He has now moved to the Midlands somewhere, I can find out if you need to know! He also has a large stock of S/H body panels and other spares. Nationwide trim can retrim your seats, any other panels and I think they do carpets. They used to do all of the Range Rover trim finishes, (even leather!!!) but not sure what they supply now. I think that Exmoor Trim are biased more towards Land Rovers, but it can't hurt to give them a ring. With regard to the rear wipers I believe that they became available as an option after a couple of years, but were mounted on the rear D pillar, along with the washer bottle. Later ones were mounted above the tailgate. I seem to remember that there was an aftermarket version available, but I have no idea how this was fitted. Good luck with the rebuild. It will be nice to see an unaltered Range Rover classic as they are becoming extremely rare! Cheers for that tip about Chris Hodges, I've found 2 reasonable drivers doors and might have a lead on a passenger door but I haven't done anything about them yet. At least I know there are some about, which I thought might be a problem originally The wiper is definitely a bodge job - '72 is when it became an option and this one is clearly just a Series-type motor drilled through the back of the car No time to play though this weekend Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeSheds Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 I'm impressed/intrigued how you knew the glass was toughened? Is it the way the light is reflecting in the photos or something? Polarised light is affected by toughened glass, not sure of the science, but it results in rainbow effects which you can see in the reflections. Polarised light you may be thinking? Well light from the sky is polarised. So basically yes - you can see the zoned pattern in the pictures. These screens were referred to as 'Zone Toughened' since that are treated differently over a wide section in front of the eyes (which you can see in the photos) to make that section more likely to fall out, or stay in larger pieces, rather than just craze. The main problem with toughened glass is that a small stone hit in (say) a corner could craze out the whole thing resulting in zero visibility until you either punch it out or it falls out - hence the zoning which makes it more likely that you at least have a chance of seeing through it. Whether or not you can see through the glass bits in your eyes is another matter... As I said - a nice original touch, but not one that I would like to sit behind... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willfromsussex Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 They are a pain when they go yes ( had one go once on a different vehicle) however they are much tougher (as the name might suggest) and a stone might bounce off which would crack a laminated screen .Also they are 100 times easier to remove without breaking. Laminated ones tend to crack if you try to take them out of a car. Also old laminated screens can go cloudy, toughened ones last forever. Swings and roundabouts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveRK Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 Lets keep the windscreen drama in perspective please The toughened 'zone' will provide quite sufficient safety in the event of a severe impact. Or were we all driving death traps in the 80s & 90s???????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeSheds Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Death traps? I only said that a toughened screen is not something I would like to sit behind! Having said that - I would like to comment on your statement that the toughened zone "will provide quite sufficient safety" if I may: I have smashed dozens of windscreens (I worked in a scrap yard in the 80s) and have seen the ease with which a toughened screen 'goes' (automatic centre-pop anyone?), and the difficulty of smashing a laminated one, they will crack for sure, but they don't craze and fall in your lap. And if you think that all those bits from a toughened screen don't contain any sharps you are completely wrong... Even during the 60's it was commonly known in the UK that there were serious 'drawbacks' to toughened glass and that laminated is better (laminated screens were optional extras available on mid sixties Mini Coopers for example), and a lot of upmarket cars used laminated screens as standard (Ford in America started using laminated screens in the twenties apparently!). So - plain glass=BAD, toughened=better, zone toughened=better still, laminated=best (for the moment...) We all have to accept compromises - we can't have the safest car that it is possible to build since it would be prohibitively expensive, so we make the most of what we can afford, and FOR ME, the cost of a laminated screen is something that I would be prepared to bear for my own peace of mind. Cheers, Roger p.s. The only benefit of having a toughened screen I can think of is if you (or someone else) is thrown through it - laminated glass is not at all nice in that situation. p.p.s. Sincere apologies for the thread hijack - I look forward to the next instalment of the project Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwgriffiths Posted February 21, 2011 Author Share Posted February 21, 2011 Upper tailgate "issue" is now resolved: eBay has come through with a nice aluminium replacement This is another nice find, genuine old new stock LR door trims, both sides, complete in perfect condition. Price is a tad steep for my liking though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickeyw Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 Door trims, yes steep indeed! But what price does one place on total authenticity? Imagine you found a set of vinyl seats in the same condition.... On the other hand, those trim panels don't look too tricky to replicate, especially if yours still have the metal clips in useable condition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwgriffiths Posted February 21, 2011 Author Share Posted February 21, 2011 Door trims, yes steep indeed! But what price does one place on total authenticity? Imagine you found a set of vinyl seats in the same condition.... On the other hand, those trim panels don't look too tricky to replicate, especially if yours still have the metal clips in useable condition. What price? A grand for all the authentic bits and bobs for the interior and exterior, not just 4 pieces of pleather I'm hoping they'll be easy to make up, I just need to find the right material in the right colour..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L19MUD Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 I have only just seen this thread (after replying to your wanted ad!) I have a 72 2 Door Range Rover that is very standard except for the engine (and very rusty!!) so i can take pictures of anything you wanted for comparison. I also have a 77 2 Door that has been bobbed (done by me as it had already been heavily messed about with. I have a fair few early Range Rover bits kicking about that are spare (I might even have a 3 spoke steering wheel if you still need one) Send me a PM if your after certain bits and I will see what i have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwgriffiths Posted February 22, 2011 Author Share Posted February 22, 2011 Cheers for the photos mate I'm at Uni at the moment so I'll PM you back when I get back Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwgriffiths Posted February 26, 2011 Author Share Posted February 26, 2011 Good news and bad news today. The good news is lots of bits have arrived from Paddocks I spent a few hours fiddling with that little lot, and hey presto the engine starts and runs The bad news is the throttle cable is attached to thin air, and all the linkages between the throttle cable and both of the carbs have gone AWOL As a result I'm left with an engine that runs and idles, but over which I have no control So now I need to track down all the parts of the linkages (Impossible?), find a pair of Strombergs with the linkages intact or possibly use this as an excuse to switch to SU's. Thoughts and comments on those suggestions are welcome as always Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willfromsussex Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 I have a 72 engine (and overdrive gearbox) which I'm not using any of, there are carbs etc with it but not on it, so i don't know if the linkages are in the car somewhere.. . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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